The Irish standard., 1887-12-31
PERSIAN MlNSTRELl.S.l !.


Unquestionably the, Most Intersstins ca
All odd Oriental Characters. 55a;3
Among the many odd and Interesting
characters that came under my observ-
alton during my bicycle tour arounA
the world, few were more amusing 10
me than the Persian lutis The lutis
are wandering minstrcls, troubadour1
mountebanks or buffoons, whichev&
name one cares to call them. The o.
binary outfit Of luti is a big, hairy
monkey, pony or donkey, and
drum. They travel about Persia, from
town to town, affording amusement to
the people by making their trained mon
keys perform sundry tricks, while they
Join in with songs and drum-beating.
Scarcely a day passed when was
riding through the Shah's dominiona
without encountering one OF these ls-
tis He would invariably be alone
never in the company Of other peopla.
and behind him. perched contented1y
on the rump OF the pony, would be hh
grotesque comrade, the monkey. This
monkey would always be large an
thropoid of the bsboon species, pos
sessed ct long, silvery hair. The hairy
covering is generally shorn from the
lower part of the body, but permitted
to retain its full growth about the head
and shoulders The partial shearisG
causes the long hair of the shoulders 10
partly overlap the nakedness OF the
body and impart to the monkey an ax.
tre,nely fantastic appearance, aa
though he were wearing 81 fur sippet
From constantly travelling about a1sd
associating with people o{ various dis
les. the lutis are far lnors enlightened
than the average Persian who stands
and ]istels to his songs. The persianas
as nation, are The most poetic peopAe
Ia the world, and common accom-
piishment with the lutis is the ability ts
warbl. verse after verse OF 1mpromptn
song--songs composed even as they
sing. This happy accomplishment en"
ables the lutis to always adapt tSaeig
theme to She temper and prejudicsa,
likes and dislikss OF their Audiences,
and Che luti is always cute enough ta
find this out and sJroke his listeners
the right way.
If / ever got into trouble with a city
mob, as / sometimes did, could nj"
ways depend upon she Offices of a las
to help me out OF ii, should one o.
them happen te be present. This was
partly because they were more enlisht~
ened and tolerant OF the manners and
,nistakee of a stranger in a, str&nga
land than their untGaveIed countrymen.
ard partly becanee they felt pretty Ger
tain ot coin oy two for their services.
In the hazai Of Lenajan. large city
in Northern Persia, one day The m,l
tizude Of people, wild with euriosita
and excitement concerning tue Feren
CHI and his wonderful asp-i-a!nea
<horse-of-iron), as the Persians called
the bicycle, became So great about rns
that it was Impossible for me 10 move
in any direction. Although the baza
was SO densely packed with people,
struggling anG pushing forward TO OBJ
tain peep at roe and ths
bicycle, that one could not walk.
let alone ride bicycle, the moh
was clamoring loudly for naa
to mount and let them see me ride.
Their ignorance Of cycles capahili-
ties and the natural dull wit af hals-
civilized people blinded them to ths
folly Of shouting for g. man to rjds
without giving him SO mueh roona 40
even TO turn around. As q matter I'd
fact. they might with equal consistency
have been shouting for s. fish to swira
without providing him with water,
In the midst OF all the uprcar thssa
came elbowing his way through d
crowd Of vvool]y-hatted Persians one os
our friends, the lutis, bearing Oh hss;
shoulder his monkey companion, ana
holding alott with one hand his drua.
Reaching my side, the luti set ]sM
monkey on the ground and, by jerking
it's chain and addressing it encouraging
ly, caused it TO caper about and give
utterance to ioua angry grunts, Jn
this manner he succeeded in relieving
the crush about me and the bicycle in
short order. then told him to head
the way to respectable tchai-hahn
(tea-house) where could obtain re-
freshments. Using the monkey t., clear
passage through the people by Ell
couragjng him to grunt angrily and
spring about, the luti piloted naa
through the bazaar and into a tea-honse.
Arriving there he took up his station at
hedoor, and whenever the crowd about
it became noisy and abusive, he would
chase them away with the monkey.
The tea-house was a comparatively
comfortable place, and I concluded to
remain there For the night The pro-
prietor, being a speculative and shrewd
Individual, conceived the idea OF utiliz-
ing ME and the bicycle, and the luti
as an attraction to draw customers TO
his place of business.
To this end he placed couple of
guards at the door with sticks, with
orders to admit none but respectable
persons, who had money TO spend ON